Box of Rain
by ArcherUmi
Summary: The moment was soon washed away, as it always was, by all the things forgotten upon waking but soon remembered in the light of day. The weight of it all was heavy on her mind. Hina wakes up in her hotel room early in the morning, before the others.


**Author's Note: **After I watched Weathering with You this idea popped in to my head while I was on my way home, so I hammered it out that night and cleaned it up some the next day. Major spoilers**.**

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It was dark when she stirred from a restless, uneasy sleep, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes. She yawned, contemplating in that brief, calm new moment whether or not to get up now or go back to sleep, what she might do today, what to eat for breakfast. The moment was soon washed away, as it always was, by all the things forgotten upon waking but soon remembered in the light of day. The weight of it all was heavy on her mind.

Her eyes adjusting to the light, she looked around. Hodaka and her brother were still sleeping soundly beside her. They were still safe and sound in the hotel room as the rain, wind, and snow battered the world outside and police combed the city for the three runaways who had slipped away in the storm. She caught a glimpse of the digital clock on a nightstand, reading 2:56 AM.

The naive thought that everything would be alright if they only stayed here ran through her mind, and she quickly dismissed it. The police and social services were still looking for them. And the rain still...-

Hina made up her mind in that moment. If she stayed any longer it would only get harder for her to pull herself away. If Hodaka or Nagi woke up they would try to stop her. She didn't think Hodaka would accept that this was something she had to do. It would also be harder to evade unwanted attention.

She crawled to the foot of the bed, careful not to disturb the people on either side of her. The macabre thought that it might've helped her slip away unnoticed had she thought to sleep nearer the edge of the bed rather than in the middle crossed her mind as she slipped off the bathrobe and tossed it aside where she had been laying. It was irrelevant at this point, but morbid curiosity got the better of her and she glanced down, looking over the left side of her body, now almost entirely engulfed by the water, shimmering and translucent, a few ripples spreading where tears had fallen on her chest. It was hard to tell, but she would guess it had spread since last night.

Her eyes caught on the ring as she got dressed. It was hard not to think of the implications of such a gift. Or more what they would be if they were older, perhaps? Or maybe she was thinking too deeply in to it?

Still, the thought was another thing trying to pull her backward with the mirage of another choice.

_"Do you want the rain to stop?"_, she had asked him. The rain was her fault. It was her problem. And it would consume her no matter what anyway, so...

Pulling on her coat, she quietly opened the door, stepped in to the hallway, and made her way to the elevator, slipping out of the hotel and, as far as she could tell, avoiding much notice from the few staff at the desk at this hour. The rain was still falling. It was an hour and a half or so walk to 1-chome-35-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya.

It was eerie how quiet it was as she walked, the streets empty even for this hour. There was little to keep her company at first but the soft roar of falling raindrops, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

When something did appear, it was little more welcome than the loneliness had been. The fish had returned. At first it was just a few tiny ones leaping and spiraling through the air behind her, that she hadn't even noticed until having a strong, sudden feeling of unease that prompted her to reluctantly glance over her shoulder. Soon they became larger and more numerous, a funeral procession of sorts that drew the disbelieving glances of the scarce few people who dared remain outside rather than taking shelter from the downpour.

It was far too soon that she reached the abandoned building where she had first seen the pool of light from her mother's hospital room that day. The rains had not been kind to it, the facade visibly more worn than it was only a few days ago. The damage was apparent inside as well as she climbed the stairs and found rubble strewn about and gaps in the walls. Eventually it blocked her path and forced her to clamber out on to the emergency stairs. A chill ran down her as she felt the landing she had stepped on groan and buckle under her feet, but it didn't break as she made her way up the last few stairs to the rooftop.

Hina stared across at the little shrine and it's weary gate, pausing for a moment. When she started walking again, her mind hung on each agonizing step. Light had begun to creep in to the sky by now, though still obscured by dark clouds.

She happened to think about Hodaka again, thoughts she wished wouldn't cross her mind and trouble her more. All of a sudden, she remembered the time he had confronted the hostess club recruiters she had reluctantly went along with, and again the ring came to mind. Tears were once again streaming down her face.

Maybe he would come running again and everything really would be okay. That's how it goes in stories, right? Even if he did though, even if he was really in love with her like in those stories, it would probably take a miracle for him to save her from this. Not some fluke like finding a toy gun that turned out to be real in the trash.

The thoughts still threatened to hold her back and chip away at her unsteady resolve, and she tried to banish them from her mind.

It was too late, right? Someone had to stop the rain, right?

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands together in prayer, and took the last step through the torii, feeling an updraft carry her away.

If something as strange as sunshine girls could really exist, though, who could say miracles didn't happen?

She decided it would be a pleasant surprise if that were true.


End file.
